This invention relates generally to the field of surgical instrumentation, and more particularly to an improved device for removing obstructions, usually large particles of food, which have accidentally become lodged in the pharynx and trachea to cause choking. While various first aid procedures are known to relieve the victim, such procedures require substantial skills which are not always available when an emergency situation occurs. Instruments which require direct engagement with the particle can be used only by professional persons, and back slapping is not always effective.
It is known in the art to provide jet suction devices, as exemplified by the McGrath U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,532 for the removal of fluids and semifluids from the lungs and breathing passages of animals. The advantage of using jet type suction is that it avoids creating excessive negative pressures within the body of the animal, without the necessity of providing relief valves. Such devices, while useful, do not contemplate the engagement of solid objects which are not capable of being sucked down a tube outwardly of the mouth of the animal.